Global investment manager Legg Mason is in exclusive negotiations to buy an 80 percent stake in Midtown-based real estate investor Clarion Partners.
The deal would value Clarion at $850 million, a premium, according to Bloomberg, which cited sources familiar with the talks.
Baltimore-based Legg Mason, founded in 1899, had $696 billion under management as of July 31, 2015.
Clarion, founded in 1982 by Stephen Furnary and John Weisz, has about $38 billion in assets under management, and owns properties in several major U.S. markets including Boston and Palm Beach.
In New York, the firm owns the Printhouse Lofts at 139 North 10th Street in Williamsburg, the 70,000-square-foot office building at 636 Sixth Avenue, and others.
Last month, it bought a 70 percent stake in the 120,000-square-foot 86 Trinity Place in the Financial District, with plans to create 174 hotel rooms there.
In September, the firm paid $99 million along with partners Alchemy Properties and ABR Partners for the leasehold at the 25-story office building at 221 East 43rd Street in Midtown. [Bloomberg] – Ariel Stulberg